


wait until sun rise

by birthdayblur



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Hiking, M/M, Nature, Strangers to Lovers, daniel is seongwoo's pet rock, minhyun is stressed and has issues, minhyun thinks seongwoo is cute, nu'est members are minhyun's crew, onghwang are cute, seongwoo just wants to help
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-29 17:01:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14477232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/birthdayblur/pseuds/birthdayblur
Summary: Minhyun gets lost while hiking and makes the mistake(?) of trusting fake hermit Seongwoo.And they somehow fall in love after 24 hours.





	wait until sun rise

The stillness is broken by the rapid squelching of boots across damp ground, each step tearing further into anxiety. Shoulders heaving, the lone figure halts, and thinks, for the thirteenth time, that he _will never trust Kang Dongho again_. The sudden stop causes a blood rush to his head and he presses his palms against his temples, forcing his squeezed eyes open, breath coming out in short gasps. Blinking, he focuses onto a small rock.

He cocks is head at the grinning face scrawled onto the rugged surface, simple lines seeming to encompass the voice sneering at him from his subconscious. He expects condescension, an affirmation of his errors or, perhaps even more appropriately, an incitement of anxiety.

Instead he receives neither.

“Hey, are you okay?”

He stares at the rock, hands slowly lowering to rest by his sides. What was supposed to be the taunts of his subconscious was now a distinct voice, nuanced with concern.

Looking up, the air is damp, and ahead of him, spindly trees scatter as far as he can see, twisting mockingly towards the overcast sky. His already rapid heartbeat develops into irregularity, the weight of his unnecessarily over-packed backpack more conspicuous as cold sweat starts to form on his skin.

He realises that if the voice didn’t come from the rock, or anywhere within his immediate vision, there is only one other direction.

His eyes flicker to his peripherals and he slowly turns, blood pounding in his ears and head starting to spin.

He was expecting a machete-wielding, hockey-masked man.

Instead there’s long messy hair, and a yellow jumpsuit like something out of Kill Bill. He blinks once but the mirage doesn’t fade, and then his vision blurs, the dizzying pounding in his head echoing, and the world around him turns to black.

☀ ☀ ☀

A lazy smile forms on his lips as he feels the sunlight filtering through his bedroom curtains, warming his face. His pillow feels softer than usual, and he turns is head to bury deeper into the familiar scent of fabric and dirt…

Minhyun’s eyes flutter open. An ant crawls amiably up a thin blade of grass, finally perching on the tip as if to survey the unfamiliar giant. The hum of hidden insects and the cawing of birds echo around him. He groans, remembering where he is. Jiri Mountain. _The perfect place to clear your mind_ , as Dongho had put it. Why he suddenly listened to his best friend when he usually laughs off all his stupid suggestions is beyond him.

He sighs, wanting the ground to swallow him up whole. He left both his phone and maps at Nogodan Shelter as he hurried out wanting to see the sunrise. In the end he only got lost, and he didn’t even get to see the sunrise because of the clouds. He doesn’t even care that he’s lying on dirt when he usually tries to keep very clean. Turning to his other side to rub more dirt into face, he comes face to face with a rock with a decidedly bright but annoying smile.

“Rise and shine!”

Minhyun freezes. Not because he thinks the rock is talking to him again, but because the voice had come from above him. Craning his neck upwards, he suddenly feels faint.

The clouds had parted, and a soft halo of light forms around an upturned face that looks like… _a visage carved out of marble_ he decides. The stranger’s lips are spread into a grin, but Minhyun notices that his deep brown eyes are full of worry. Minhyun lowers his gaze, and notices a trio of moles on the apple of his cheek.

Then he realises he’s lying on the handsome stranger’s lap.

Rolling off with a jolt, Minhyun feels electricity hit his body as he lands on the actual rock with a face, and whimpers an _ow_. The stranger’s eyes grow comically wide as he scrambles to his knees. He whispers something that sounds like _“Bad Daniel”_ and snatches the rock to put beside him. Hands hover over Minhyun for a second, before pulling away and deciding to just stare at him despondently, nervously chewing on his bottom lip.

“You fainted and fell pretty hard. Sorry if I scared you with,” he gestures to his long messy hair and yellow training suit, “this.”

When Minhyun doesn’t say anything, he continues cautiously, “I’m Seongwoo by the way.” Then his tone shifts into one of excitement, and a hint of pride, “I’m a hermit!”

Minhyun allows his jaw to fall open, and then quickly closes it. He didn’t think it was possible to meet someone even crazier than his friend Aron, who eats ice cubes as soon as he wakes up. But here is a man no older than himself, claiming he is a hermit, with a pet rock named Daniel, so he figures anything is possible.

Slowly lifting himself off the ground with one hand, he spies his backpack leaning against a nearby tree. It would probably take only 3 seconds to get up, snatch his bag, and run.

But he had been running in random directions for the past few hours and getting nowhere, so Minhyun thinks that _maybe_ he should stay, even if the guy seemed slightly off his rockers. Besides, if he _is_ a hermit, and lives in the mountains, the Seongwoo guy _should_ be able to point him back to civilisation.

_If he didn’t get eaten first._

Minhyun wishes he didn’t read as many books as he did.

“Do you live here? I-in the mountains?” Minhyun licks his lips nervously, shoulders still tensed.

Seongwoo stares at him wide-eyed, mouth slightly ajar. “Huh? Oh, ah, yeah, I live here! In the mountains.”

Minhyun carefully scans the stranger’s flustered expression. Being in the mountains, Seongwoo must not have seen someone in years, or talked to them at least. He was probably uneasy about how to interact with another human being, especially one that had fainted right in front of him.

“Then… do you know how to get back to Nogodan shelter?”

“Nog-what?”

“The shelter that’s near here…” Minhyun trails off, panic slowly creeping into his chest. _Crap, how far did I go?_

Seongwoo scrunches his features apologetically. “You see, I don’t exactly know the names of the shelters. When I see people I usually go the other way. Y’know, because I’m a hermit.”

Minhyun sighs with his eyes lowered, moving to sit cross-legged. He is Hwang Minhyun. He always had a plan, and even when he didn’t, he always knew what to do anyway. In all the 22 years of his life, he had never felt so hopeless. If he couldn’t get back to the shelter, where his phone and maps were, how is he supposed to continue his four-day, three-night hike? How is he going to clear his mind, relax his body and enjoy the great outdoors?

_If you don’t get out of here, you’ll be enjoying the great outdoors forever._

Minhyun shivers at the thought. And then something clicks. That’s it. He just needed to get out of here, out of this damn mountain. He would know what to do then.

“Seongwoo!” The stranger in front of him jolts, and looks at him with the same wide-eyed expression. “Can you show me how to get out of the mountain? Or to a trail or something?”

Seongwoo blinks a few times ( _probably trying to remember how to express himself in Korean_ , thinks Minhyun). “Oh, um, yeah, sure! Uh, it might be a while though? We’re pretty far into the forest.”

Laughing in relief, he stands up to grab his bag. “Will any of this stuff be of use to you? I read a few books, but I’m sure you have a better idea of what we need.”

Their fingers brush as he hands the bag over, and Minhyun is slightly intrigued about how Seongwoo manages to keep his skin so soft. As Seongwoo rummages through the bag, he takes the opportunity to look at him more closely, mapping out the structure of his face, the texture of his skin, the way his lips press together as he stares intently at an object in his hand…

“THAT’S HAIR GEL,” Minhyun panics, snatching the explicitly-labelled bottle from his hand before he can read it. “Hair gel, its hair gel, just hair gel,” he mutters, suddenly conscious of how fast he’s blinking. _Minki you’re dead._

Seongwoo gives him a confused expression, and then stands, picking up Daniel-The-Rock. “Oo-kay. Well, I think I saw some things in there that could help us out. We should get going.”

Minhyun hurriedly gets up, busying himself in zipping up the bag to avoid explaining his mini panic-attack. “Ah, don’t wait for me, just start walking.”

Shrugging, Seongwoo trudges ahead. As the minutes pass Minhyun watches as the yellow figure in front of him progressively becomes slower and slower, until they are side-by-side.

“Uhh… Seongwoo? Do you need to take a break?”

Seongwoo’s face morphs into a forced grin as he turns to look at Minhyun. “No, no, I’m doing fine!”

 _He obviously isn’t doing fine._ Back in Seoul Minhyun had been practically working overtime every night. He hadn’t exercised for months. Yet he wasn’t the one heavily breathing from simply walking. If it was anyone else, he would tell them to stop, that health was the most important.

But he feels like it’s not his place to lecture a nature man about health, and he doesn’t want to accidentally piss his only lifeline off with nagging. At least not while Seongwoo is holding that rock which Minhyun belatedly realises could also double as a murder weapon.

“I’ll… help you carry Daniel for a bit. It must be pretty heavy.”

“Oh, okay, sure! He doesn’t bite, I promise,” Seongwoo winks as he passes Daniel-The-Rock to Minhyun. The permanent-marker face now smiles cheerily at him, with crescent-shaped eyes and a wide mouth with two… bunny teeth? Minhyun can’t help but chuckle at the random detail, and quickly glances at the artist next to him.

Seongwoo’s grin had spread into a genuine smile. Despite the tangle of hair and the dirt smudged across his cheek, Minhyun finds himself marvelling at the chiselled features of the stranger once again. A sudden cough brings him back to reality.

“I realised I never asked you your name?”

“Oh…” he blinks, not knowing what to say. “Miiiiin-hyuuuun,” he finally draws out.

“Ah,” Seongwoo laughs, holding out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you Miiiiin-hyuuuun.” He laughs again when he remembers that Minhyun’s hands are occupied.

They fall silent, Minhyun wondering why his brain isn’t working right now when he usually strikes up a conversation easily. _Probably because he could murder you at any time. And not because he’s kinda really good-looking._

Minhyun steals another glance at the stranger, as they steadily moving forward in rhythm with each other. Perhaps it wouldn’t be too bad to be stuck in the mountains a little longer.

☀

A few hours later, Minhyun decides that passing by the same tree three times is two times too many. When he had decided to follow Seongwoo, it was because he thought he would be back in Seoul by now. Who needs fresh air, he could survive on fine dust.

He gazes irritatingly at the stranger, and then narrows his eyes when Seongwoo meets his with a cheery laugh. Seongwoo must be playing with him. That’s it. He’d been alone in the mountains for too long. He had no intention of helping Minhyun back to civilisation. Minhyun is going to die out here. The weeks spent reading survival books, watching Youtube videos, buying hiking essentials, was useless because they’d been endlessly walking around the same forest.

Even with all the necessities in his bag, from a pocket knife, to a portable gas stove, to Minki’s convincing plan to _‘impress those ahjummas’_ with _‘Sex-Proof Mousse’_ , he had no defence against the growing discomfort in his stomach. The only food Minhyun had packed was energy bars, which he had panic-ate when he was panic-running just this morning. He had taken the survival thing too seriously, believing he could find his own sustenance. _How to Eat like a King: Mountain Edition! by Park Jihoon_ suddenly felt even heavier on his shoulders.

He’s too distracted to notice Seongwoo running ahead excitedly.

“Ah, Minhyun, over here!”

Minhyun breaks out of his thoughts, looking around. The trees around him look slightly different, and his heartbeat quickens in anticipation as the figure ahead eagerly gestures towards him.

Concentrating, he can hear it now. A faint hum, a scrunching of leaves. On the ground he recognises the wide and round footprints of a wild boar, from the picture in Park Jihoon’s book.

Recalling the passage on how to hunt for wild animals, Minhyun realises that Seongwoo’s already started preparing for the chase. He closes his eyes, willing his heartbeat to slow down. Even though he had prepared to only eat namul for the next few days, jotting down all the known locations to gather vegetables on his map, he realises he doesn’t have a choice when the survival expert seems so eager to hunt. He’ll just have to look away when it happens.

_Encircle the animal, cut off its escape routes before closing in._

Seongwoo’s standing in the opposite direction from the sound, and Minhyun just knows from his expression and frantic beckoning that he wants him to lure the animal over.

He slings the bag over his chest, placing Daniel inside, and digs around for the pocket knife and rope he knows he packed. Licking his lips nervously, he starts towards the noise.

As the hum transforms into a louder snuffling, Minhyun can hear Seongwoo calling his name, probably to let him know where he is so he can direct the boar to him. He can see it now through the trees, a round shape heaving with deep-bellied snorts as it noses through the grass.

He tip-toes around it, turning to face Seongwoo who is a few hundred metres away, still gesturing wildly.

“GEEEE-AAHHH!” Minhyun charges forward, waving his arms about. The boar makes a panicked squeal and runs in Seongwoo’s direction. He sees him freeze, eyes bulging and jaw opened.

“Wha- AHHHHHHHH,” Seongwoo yells as he turns, sprinting away from the beast.

Minhyun’s still running wildly, but then he slows down in confusion as he watches Seongwoo attempt to clamber up a tree. The trees are too spindly, and Seongwoo can only hang sideways from the branch.

“Minhyu- wha- help!!!” he gasps out.

Sensing the disorder, the boar starts bouncing on its trotters, nipping at the ends of Seongwoo’s hair. Minhyun almost bursts out laughing at the look of pain on Seongwoo’s face, features squeezed tight as he grips the branch like a sloth.

But then he realises Seongwoo must only be acting as bait to distract the boar so Minhyun can capture it. The hammering in his chest mixed with his own rugged breaths ring through his ears as he slowly approaches the animal, raising his knife-wielding hand. He can’t believe what he’s about to do.

_Locate the jugular, finish the animal quickly._

The pounding in his ears grow louder as he nears the animated form, its neck exposed as it attempts to grab Seongwoo’s hair.

“What the heck, what are you doing Minhyun?!”

He quickly looks up, registering a different kind of panic now painting Seongwoo’s face.

In the moment of hesitation, the boar senses his presence and bounds away with a loud squeal. He’s frozen, staring at Seongwoo as his features shift from panicked authority to shameful timidness. Minhyun closes his eyes and lets out the long breath he didn’t realise he’d been holding in.

Pressing his mouth into a tight line, he slowly looks up, channelling his emotions into the best death-glare he can muster. All his previous paranoia melts away. Obviously, Seongwoo isn’t capable of murdering or eating anyone.

“Ah, help me down?” Seongwoo grins sheepishly, avoiding eye contact.

☀

Minhyun is following Seongwoo again, having given in to his pleading that they’re very very close. After the initial burst of anger, he had realised that he was still very much lost in the mountains, and abandoning his only lifeline in a tree wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do.

At least Seongwoo has the decency to look guilty, eyes downcast and the gait in his step gone. Minhyun probably wouldn’t have been able to hurt the boar anyway, but he doesn’t feel bad for blaming Seongwoo, with the rumble in his stomach and his body complaining in exhaustion. He may have felt a little satisfied when he _accidentally_ stumbled and dropped him on the ground as he came down from the tree. 

But he’s happy that they’re no longer walking around in circles. Minhyun surveys the unfamiliar surroundings appreciatively as the scattering of trees become more and more sparse, until they finally break away from the shadow of the forest. 

He gasps at the sight.

Wide grass hills stretch in front of him, coloured a deep emerald green. The soft mounds rise and fall gracefully, the bright purple of royal azalea flowers scattered throughout. In the distance, layered mountain ranges fade off into the settling fog. 

Minhyun feels his breath catch in his throat, and he can’t help but smile. The sky is overcast again, but compared to the forest, the landscape in front of him shined vividly. He looks at Seongwoo, whose wary expression transforms into a smile mirroring his own. 

“I knew you’d like it, you seem like the type that never goes outside.” Minhyun opens his mouth to rebuke him, but closes it quickly when he realises that he really doesn’t ever go outside. If you don’t count work (he really doesn’t want to think about the places he’s gone for work), and all the books he’s read, he’s never actually been to a real mountain before. 

Instead he opts to direct another death-stare at Seongwoo, who’s looking around some of the azalea bushes. Minhyun approaches one of the flowering bushes, and strokes the petals appreciatively. 

_It kind of feels like Seongwoo’s hand._

“Aha! Here it is!” Seongwoo grins as he pulls out a big burlap sack. Stray blooms are stuck in between the woven fibres, and the bag is bulging from whatever is inside. 

“As soon as I saw you I knew you could help me,” Seongwoo chatters animatedly as he unties the sack, “You’re hungry, right?”

Minhyuns ears perk up. _Ah, no wonder. Seongwoo must be a vegetarian. He was probably foraging around the forest for food when he ran into me._

He steps nearer, eager to see the fresh vegetables and roots inside. He can already imagine boiling them on the gas stove, filling his empty stomach with the goodness of organic food. 

“Here it is, the best food known to mankind!” Seongwoo exclaims triumphantly, holding something that is _definitely_ not organic. 

“Ramyun?” Minhyun can’t believe his eyes. But as he takes it from Seongwoo’s hand, the red plastic with ‘RAMYUN’ written in black letters is unmistakeable. 

“Yeah, um, well, sometimes people leave ramyun at the campsites and I just so happen to pick them up? Yeah, people can be really careless sometimes.” Seongwoo says, no longer maintaining eye contact. 

Minhyun’s mind works quickly to justify the strange sight in front of him. _Well I guess people do bring ramyun when they go camping? And it’s true, not everyone cleans up after themselves like I do._ Minhyun thinks back to Dongho’s late night food habits. _Yeah, it’s definitely possible for people to leave ramyun around._

Seongwoo snatches the packet from his hand, stuffing it back into the sack. “Well, yeah, I have all this ramyun right, but no way to cook it. But you have your portable stove! So, we just need to get some water from the river and we’ll be eating in no time!”

Minhyun decides that with the materialisation of food, overanalysing could come later. “That’s great! It’s lucky we met each other.” He smiles, feeling it go all the way to his eyes. 

“O- ah, yeah, n-no problem,” Seongwoo sputters, before abruptly turning around and attempting to walk for a few metres with the big sack. But he staggers, and ends up attempting to drag it instead. 

“Here, let me.” Minhyun takes the sack from Seongwoo, carrying it in his arms. It really isn’t heavy, but he guesses that Seongwoo must not have the muscles from his lack of protein. 

“Oh, thanks,” Seongwoo mumbles, “The river should be somewhere over here, just follow me.”

His subconscious tells him that it’s not wise to blindly follow Seongwoo again, but his heart is too preoccupied with the tips of Seongwoo’s ears. A colour the exact same shade as the ramyun packet is starting to bloom.

☀

They surprisingly reach the river in only a few minutes.

“You’re shocked, right? The forest just isn’t my element.” Seongwoo grins, bounding towards the sparkling stream. 

They set up camp on one of the rocky slabs, slightly elevated above the river, away from the rushing water. Minhyun pulls out Daniel from the depths of his bag, carefully positioning the permanently-smiling rock to avoid getting wet from river spray. Seongwoo laughs cheerfully, beginning to tell the rock all that happened in the last few hours, from the wild boar, “-and then Minhyun went all crazy waving his knife around!” to finally leaving the forest, “-I told you Minhyun’s never gone outside before. You lost, so _you’re_ washing the laundry next. Hey Minhyun!” Seongwoo directs his attention to him. “You’ve never gone outside before right?”

Minhyun chuckles whole-heartedly, shaking his head while setting up the portable gas-stove. Rising with the metal pot in his hand, he calls back to Seongwoo as he walks to the stream, “I am outside right now, aren’t I?”

Seongwoo’s eyes open wide in shock. “Damn, Daniel, guess I have to do the laundry this time,” he mutters as he pulls out ramyun packets from the sack. 

They both stare impatiently at the simmering water, waiting for it to come to a boil. When tumultuous bubbles start appearing, Seongwoo stacks four ramyun cakes into the pot. Minhyun wants to tell him that there’s not enough water to cook all the ramyun at once, but he just smiles at another one of his antics. _I guess you can’t always have control over everything_ , Minhyun muses. 

The springy ramyun tastes even better than usual. When they’ve finished eating the noodles, they take turns drinking the hot broth, Minhyun sighing in contentment with every sip. At the end of the meal, he lies down with this arms under his head, watching the clouds drift apart to expose a brilliant blue sky. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Minhyun sees Seongwoo carefully place Daniel next to his head, and then lie down next to him. It feels nice, the warm presence just an arm’s length away. Back in Seoul, he never really had any time to lie down and _relax_. Here in the mountain, he unexplainably feels comfortable. 

He decides that he wants to know Seongwoo better. Exactly why he’s in the mountains, all alone, scavenging for food from forgetful hikers. What made him leave civilisation when he’s still young and has his own future ahead of him. However, Minhyun subconsciously shakes his head. He doesn’t want to be too nosy, and risk poking a sensitive area. He settles on only asking how long he’s been living in the mountains for. 

“Hey, Seongwoo? Could I a-” Minhyun’s question is interrupted by a sudden gust of wind, blowing an empty ramyun packet on his face. “He-phf-wha,” he sputters, clawing at the plastic. 

When he finally gets the offending material off his face, his eyes fix automatically on the small black lettering at the top right corner. 

 

**DATE OF MANUFACTURE: 24 APRIL 2018**

 

Minhyun frowns. May had only just begun, so the ramyun had been manufactured just a few days ago. 

_That didn’t make sense_ … 

Minhyun quickly turns to Seongwoo, who is wriggling around with his hand clutching his belly. He stops laughing when he notices the serious expression on Minhyun’s face. 

“Seongwoo… how long have you been living in the mountains for?”

They stare at each other for what feels like eternity. 

“Many, many, uh, a long, long-”

Realisation dawns on him. Minhyun sits up, blinking rapidly, and then puts his head in his hands, urging his heart to steady. 

“You don’t know how to get out of here, do you?”

Seongwoo, slowly gets up, pushing Daniel behind him. 

“Minhyun… I didn’t want you to freak out…”

The combination of tiredness and sudden panic causes Minhyun to explode. 

“Freak out? FREAK OUT? I shouldn’t freak out? Do you know why I’m freaking out? Do you want a list of reasons why I most definitely should be freaking out?” Minhyun’s voice is high, sentences jumbling into each other incoherently. 

“Uh…” Seongwoo trails off, not sure if he should respond. Minhyun doesn’t wait for his answer. 

“Number 1, I don’t have my phone or any maps. Number 2, I’ve been stuck in this mountain for 8 hours without my phone or any maps. Number 3, I came here to clear my head, but now I’m more stressed than I’ve ever been in my life!”

“Woah, Minhyun, calm down-“

He feels tears welling in his eyes, but the rage overwhelms him. 

“Number 4, I’m stuck on this mountain with a man who’s been pretending to be a hermit this whole time, who I’ve been following blindly, who’s made me walk hours carrying my stupid backpack and his stupid rock and he doesn’t even know where he’s going!”

Minhyun grabs at Seongwoo’s messy strands, vision blurring. He doesn’t know what he’s doing, he just wants to let out all his anger, and he tugs hard. 

He yelps when more than just a few strands of hair parts with Seongwoo’s head. 

Minhyun stares at the hairy jumble in his hands, and then looks up, blinking. 

The delirious mix of emotions is overpowered by astonishment. His heart beats into overdrive. The sunlight is hitting Seongwoo’s features in all the right places, no longer hindered by the wig. He’s reminded of when he first saw him eight hours ago, looking like some carefully-crafted sculpture. There’s no doubt about it. Seongwoo is beautiful. 

_Number 5. I’ve put all my trust into this strange man for no reason other than he’s really good-looking._

His stomach drops. 

The voice in his subconscious comes to life. 

_It’s not possible. To stand strong. To take control._

He gets up, backing away slowly. 

“Minhyun, where are you going?”

_There’s only one solution. There’s only ever one solution. Run._

Minhyun starts sprinting, tears filling his eyes. The pounding noise of the water seems to intensify as he runs in the opposite direction of the gushing stream. 

He can’t deal with this. Not when the threads of his sanity have long frayed and are inevitably unravelling. Months ago, it took all those remaining strands to suppress his tears, to give Jonghyun a withering stare as he slammed the door, and drove off into nothingness.

He reaches the azalea-dotted hills in record time, slowing down with his hands on his knees to catch his breath. The bright purple blooms now seem to only clash horribly with the green, his previous perception of its beauty lost. The landscape seems to stretch on forever. 

Perhaps it was those same remaining strands of desperate sanity that led him to put his life entirely into a stranger’s hands.

But now he believes that he has completely come undone.

Or that he had never been whole.

The tears come hot and rolling, burning and raging down his cheeks, dripping like molten lava off his chin. His breath catches in his throat and comes out in sputters. He looks up and blurringly makes eye contact with Seongwoo, who is panting hard, but in front of him. 

“Hey...” Seongwoo breathes, pulling him close.

Minhyun doesn’t let go, Seongwoo’s whispered reassurances muted by his own sporadic sobs.

☀

“At least I don’t have to pretend I know what I’m doing anymore?”

Minhyun scoffs at Seongwoo’s teasing grin, throwing the empty ramyun packet at his face. The chirps from the nearby trees had settled into a low murmur, with the occasional trill. Sunlight had hidden behind the clouds again, highlighting the edges with a glow. The sound of water crashing against the rocks resonates rhythmically. They had stayed entangled for an hour, Minhyun’s bawling fading off into the occasional hiccup. Now they were back at the river, sitting opposite each other, knee to knee. 

“You were believable, okay?”

Seongwoo’s eyes grow wide, not with disbelief, but with excitement. “I can pass the audition then!”

He felt déjà vu as his jaw dropped. _No way_ … “Wait, auditioning for the role of a hermit?” 

“Yeah, exactly!”

What kind of twisted fate is this, for him to run into exactly what he was trying to escape? Even though he was kind of well-known, he hadn’t expected to hear about work while hiking. 

The last few months had been a blur, after wrapping up the filming of _Korean Horror Story_ , and falling out with Jonghyun, so he guesses Aron must’ve released the casting call for the new film while he was preoccupied. In between work and Jonghyun, and preparing for the hike, he had no time to think more about the story, hastily approved after a long night of coffee and bleary eyes. 

“The hermit in Hwang Minhyun’s _Friday the 16th_?”

“Yeah, how did you know about-” Seongwoo’s mouth shapes into an ‘o’. “Does this mean I passed the audition?!”

Minhyun can’t help but laugh, the giddiness of the feeling gurgling in his chest. 

“It’s a horror film Seongwoo!”

Seongwoo huffs, arms crossing over each other, scrunching his features into a pout. “You’re telling me Ong Seongwoo in a yellow jumpsuit isn’t scary?”

Minhyun doubles over, unable to restrain his giggle. He bumps his head on Seongwoo’s shoulder, and unprepared for the impact, Seongwoo falls backwards, Minhyun falling with him. 

They lay there, quiet, Seongwoo’s arms wrapped instinctively around Minhyun, who’s frozen, face-down on the rock. He can feel Seongwoo’s warm breath on his cheek, and he knows that if he turns just a little, he’d be able do something way too intimate for someone he met this morning. 

Minhyun swallows the feeling and sits back up, avoiding Seongwoo’s burning gaze.

“Well if you really want to be in the film, we need to get out of these mountains first.”

He raises his head, but Seongwoo’s focus has shifted to Daniel-The-Rock, tracing circles over the rough surface. 

“Yeah… didn’t think that far ahead.”

Minhyun lets out a contemplative hum, scanning the landscape around him. His mind goes back to the weeks of research, trying to remember Park Woojin’s nature vlogs, or the shop assistant Jisung’s chatter while he was deciding between the 3-litre or 5-litre bottle (luckily, he chose 5 litres, even though his shoulders were currently hating him for it). The small voice in his subconscious wishes that Jonghyun was here, that he would know what to do. _You’re incapable without him_. 

He wishes the voice away, suppressing the spite. He wills his mind to think. Seongwoo is depending on _him_ right now. 

“Oh! All rivers must meet somewhere. If we follow the stream, we should be able to reach one of the major lakes.”

Seongwoo’s eyes glisten. “I passed by a lake when I came here!”

They scramble to pack up, Seongwoo retrieving the pot that Minhyun had habitually soaked. Minhyun stuffs the wig into a crevice in his bag, and picks up Daniel in one hand while clutching the sack of ramyun in another. 

“Ah, let me carry Daniel.” Seongwoo holds the pot out expectantly. 

Minhyun uneasily passes Daniel to him, doubt etched on his features. 

“Come on Minhyun, I’m not that weak!” Seongwoo laughs heartily as he begins to trudge over the rocks lining the stream. 

Soon enough Seongwoo’s animated walk slows down to match Minhyun’s hindered pace. But Minhyun enjoys his presence and his stories, stomach aching often from many deep-bellied laughs. 

He chuckles as Seongwoo recounts his story for a second time, “No, seriously! Me and Daniel were known for our good-looks, everyone said that we were carved out of marble. Marble! Minhyun, my nickname in school wasn’t ‘Pebble’! I can’t believe you even thought of that!”

“If Daniel’s nickname was ‘Rock’, your nickname was ‘Pebble’! It only makes sense. Directors can sense plot holes, Seongwoo.”

Seongwoo shakes his head, frustrated, but with a grin still plastered on his face. “Daniel, why won’t you defend me, you’re the only one on my side here,” he says, poking the rock in the pot. 

“Ahem, I think you’ll find that he’s sided with the one who’s carried him for the last few hours.”

“And who was the one who offered?” Seongwoo winks, and then runs ahead chanting, “Hellenistic Ong! Hellenistic Ong!”, with Daniel-in-a-pot raised high over his head. 

Minhyun smiles softly to himself. _He’s such a fool._

He couldn’t believe how little time he had known Seongwoo, when it felt like he’d been with him his entire life. He couldn’t wait to tease him with Seongwoo’s real-life best friends Daniel and Jaehwan. Then his mind buzzes in anticipation of introducing him to his film crew, imagining how Seongwoo would plot with Aron, chuckle heartily with Dongho and entertain Minki’s crazy ideas. _And break your heart like Jonghyun_ , his subconscious whispers. 

He shakes his head. Seongwoo is different. 

His thoughts are interrupted by Seongwoo’s hollering. He’s nowhere to be seen, but his voice is carried on the wind, from the direction of where the river seemed to dip dramatically. 

Hastening his pace, he reaches the slope and pauses. Seongwoo is smiling from afar, waving his arms like a glowing beacon. Behind him is a wide lake, glistening in the afternoon sun. 

But it looks familiar. Racking his brain, he remembers that he had seen this view captured before in one of Park Woojin’s vlogs. 

_They’re near civilisation._

His heart drops. 

“Minhyun! What’s taking you so long?”

He blinks, a million thoughts racing in his mind. 

“Minhyunnnnn,” Seongwoo laughs, as he clambers up the slope. “Come on!”

He feels soft fingers curl around his own, and he’s being pulled down to the lake. 

“I reckon it’ll get dark soon. We should build a fire!”

The warmth escapes his palm, and he feels Seongwoo dragging his backpack off his shoulders. 

“Woah, Minhyun, you were carrying this the whole time?” Seongwoo staggers, and Minhyun whips around automatically, grabbing onto Seongwoo’s forearms to steady him. 

It’s only when he registers the uncertainty in Seongwoo’s eyes that he realises how hard he’s gripping him. 

“Minhyun, is something wrong? Do you want to talk about it?”

He turns away, eyes wandering. “No, no it’s fine. Let’s build that fire.” 

Seongwoo doesn’t look convinced, but he doesn’t pry any further. “You should stay here at the shore Minhyun, I’ll get the sticks.” 

He turns away before Minhyun can protest otherwise. 

Minhyun watches Seongwoo’s retreating back, and then looks out over the lake. 

_How will I tell him?_

His throat constricts at the thought of parting with Seongwoo. Of going back to Seoul and pretending everything is fine. 

Unlike the rushing stream, the lake is still.

☀

Seongwoo comes back sheepishly, apologies tumbling from his tongue.

“Ah, I only have a few twigs, I couldn’t carry all the branches.”

He drops the bundle of sticks into the hole Minhyun’s carved from the ground, and collapses, panting heavily, onto the shore. 

“That’s okay Seongwoo, we can figure something out.”

He rummages through his bag, pulling out the lighter and Park Jihoon’s book. _I knew you’d be good for something_. As he rips the pages from the book, he feels more determined to savour this moment. Telling Seongwoo can wait until the morning. 

It takes another hour for the fire to start going, and then the sun is already hanging low in the sky, casting a golden glow. 

He leans back on his hands, breathing shallowly from the amount of oxygen needed to ignite the fire. The flames flicker, and his gaze travels upwards, following the stream of black smoke. His gaze finally rests on Seongwoo, who’s watching the fire and fiddling with the cuff of his jumpsuit. 

He smiles unconsciously at how soft Seongwoo looks in the light.

 _Let me try being spontaneous._

He jumps up. “I’ll race you to the lake!”

Minhyun starts jogging, and laughs at Seongwoo’s dumbstruck expression, which quickly changes to a smirk. 

“Want to bet on that?” Seongwoo bounces and begins sprinting, laughter captured by the wind. 

Minhyun overtakes him and splashes knee-deep into the lake. He turns and almost stumbles as Seongwoo crashes into his arms. Nudging him away lightly, he bends down to cup water in his hands, but he falls sideways when Seongwoo pushes him over. 

“Hwang Minhyun, I didn’t think you were this type of-” 

Minhyun interrupts him with a slap of water, laughing at Seongwoo’s stunned expression. Seongwoo stands there with his palms open, water dripping from his fringe, the look of disbelief mixed with glee. Sticking his tongue between his teeth, he slowly shakes his head, the grin morphing into one of mischief. 

“Hwang Minhyun, you’ve done it this time.”

Seongwoo barrages into Minhyun, wrapping his arms around his torso, and they both crash into the water. Minhyun struggles under Seongwoo’s weight, surprised by how successfully the latter manages to keep him underwater. He slowly opens his eyes, and sees Seongwoo staring at him, face unreadable.  
Seongwoo lets go, and they both surge upwards, gasping for breath. 

They’ve gone deeper into the lake, shoulders just above the surface. His eyes unconsciously look for Seongwoo, and he watches as sunlight plays along the contours of his face, hair sparkling with droplets.

Their eyes meet and the water stills around them. He doesn’t know if his chest is throbbing only from the tackle. 

Seongwoo begins to wade forward, eyes dark, lips parted. 

_You can’t commit to this._

Minhyun tears his gaze away from Seongwoo’s mouth, and quickly turns, splashing back to shore, panic rising in his chest.

“W-we should brush our teeth before it gets dark!”

When he reaches his bag, he pulls out his toiletries case and all the spare clothes he packed for the hike, very conscious of how Seongwoo moves silently besides him. 

He wills his heart to steady, and separates the jumpers and sweatpants from the pile. Seongwoo’s already pulled off the jumpsuit, and is standing there hesitantly, dripping in his black underclothes. Minhyun notices how tightly they mould to his lean figure. 

Quickly looking back down, ears burning, he gathers an outfit and a towel and throws it at Seongwoo. 

“You should dry yourself off quickly, you don’t want to catch a cold,” Minhyun murmurs. 

Seongwoo walks towards him with a tender smile and carefully drapes the towel over Minhyun’s shoulders, before sitting down next to the fire. “You dry off first.” 

Minhyun bites his lip and peels off his shirt, and then quickly glances at Seongwoo. He notices him immediately lower his head.

He moves further away, and once he’s changed, he passes the towel to Seongwoo. Then he busies himself with the gas stove, not daring to look up. He takes Daniel out of the pot, carefully scrutinising the face. He swears its eyebrows are higher and the bunny teeth more pronounced. 

“Minhyun, look.”

His eyes follow Seongwoo’s line of vision, out to the lake. The sky is painted in brilliant golds and oranges, fading downwards into a deep blue. The sun glows softly over the line of trees, reflecting embers onto the darkening surface. 

His heart calms as he registers the streaks of colour striping the water, accurately mirroring the hues of the sky. 

Seongwoo’s voice is lowered to a hushed whisper. “If only my days could end as beautifully as the sun.”

Minhyun considers Seongwoo’s words carefully, and moves to the lake to put water into the pot. When he comes back, Seongwoo’s moved next to Daniel, tracing circles into the rough surface with his eyebrows furrowed. 

“Why aspire to be like the sun, when the water is equally as beautiful?” Minhyun breathes out. 

Seongwoo looks up in surprise. 

They eat the noodles in silence, darkness descending upon them.

☀

Minhyun lies on the shore, hands beneath his head, roughly aware of the warmth besides him.

Stars sparkle above, scattered across the deep indigo sky. The moon is absent tonight, and so the stars seem to shine even brighter than the night before at Nogodan Shelter. It feels like aeons ago he was struggling with familiarising himself with the hiking path, under the light of his phone. Like another lifetime. 

“So,” Minhyun sees Seongwoo rearranging himself out the corner of his eye, propping his head up with one arm. “What is award-winning director Hwang Minhyun doing in the mountains? Outside?”

Minhyun knows he should be offended, but he chuckles instead. 

“Why is struggling actor Seongwoo lost in the mountains? Instead of practicing for his audition?”

He anticipates the oncoming hand, and captures it before it can push his shoulder. He can’t believe he once questioned the softness of his skin. 

Seongwoo withdraws and plops back down, arms crossed over his chest. “If I tell you why I’m here, will you tell me?”

Minhyun shrugs. “Maybe. Depends how good your story is.”

He doesn’t have to look over to know Seongwoo rolled his eyes. 

“I’m a piece of shit.”

It takes a second to register what Seongwoo said. And he feels his heart clench. Rolling over, he gazes at Seongwoo’s profile, barely illuminated by the dying embers of their fire. 

“One man’s shit is another man’s treasure.”

Minhyun smiles as Seongwoo’s eyes crinkle and his laugh pierces through the hum of crickets. “Isn’t that what people say about your movies?”

He puts his hand on his chest in mock horror. “Hey, you must not think my movies are shit if you were going to audition for them.”

Seongwoo cocks an eyebrow, and opens his mouth in response, but Minhyun leans in closer and whispers, “What one person thinks of you doesn’t change who you really are.”

What Seongwoo was about to say gets trapped between his lips. The following silence goes for a beat too long, until Seongwoo murmurs, “How do I know who I really am?”

Minhyun can’t answer immediately this time. He returns to lying on his back, tracing the constellations in the sky with his eyes. How could Minhyun be sincere when he barely knew Seongwoo at all? From what he had seen today, Seongwoo was gentle, humble, earnest, and completely adorable. But deep down he knew that he could also be none of these things. 

_Like how Jonghyun had trusted him, and he had trusted Jonghyun. And they both couldn’t keep their promises in the end._

But he realises it was only natural. The gangly Minhyun in high school, the one who could only speak to his crush through text messaging, was different from who he was now. And the formerly shy Jonghyun, who once had trouble speaking up, was different from the one who now charmed the audience with his looks and triumphantly survived all kinds of horrors on the silver screen. 

Minhyun voices slowly, contemplating each word. “I believe you’re never the same person at any one time,” he pauses to moisten his lips, and continues. “Who you are changes constantly so you can never really know. But that also means no one can tell you who you are either. So, if you put your mind to it, you can be anything you set your heart on.” 

Seongwoo is silent for the longest moment, Minhyun can’t even feel him moving. He doesn’t know if what he said was any help at all to Seongwoo, as he realises that he had practically answered his own burning question: _How could he continue his passion when Jonghyun was the fire that fuelled it?_

Now he understands that though Jonghyun was the one who had ignited the flames, it was Minhyun himself who fuelled the fire, who kept it going. The pact made in the spur of the moment, huddled in blankets, and tinged with the stark light of the computer monitor, was never going to remain unbroken. _You’ll be the star of all my movies_ , teenage Minhyun had said. _I’ll act as whatever you want me to be_ , Jonghyun had smiled in response. 

His thoughts are interrupted by Seongwoo’s whisper. “Thanks Minhyun. I think I really needed to hear that.”

Minhyun turns back to face Seongwoo, the corners of his lips slightly raised. _No, thank you, Seongwoo_ , Minhyun says internally, _thank you for being you._

As if on cue, Seongwoo arranges himself back in position, with his cheek resting on his hand. “Now, Hwang Minhyun, what about yourself.”

“Hey, your story was kinda shit,” Minhyun chuckles. 

“Minhyunnie!” Seongwoo pouts, eyebrows knitted together and eyes glaring not-so-ominously. 

_Such a fool. A cute fool._

Minhyun doesn’t want to dampen the mood. _I’ll tell it another time_ , he decides. 

“Ongie!” Minhyun teases, squeezing Seongwoo’s cheek. 

Seongwoo tries to shake Minhyun’s fingers off, but then his eyes grow wide. 

“You got my surname right! No one ever gets my surname right!”

Minhyun just laughs it off, realising that the conversation could go on forever. 

“We should get some rest Seongwoo.”

“Aw, okay.”

The air is silent for a moment. 

“Good night!”

“Good night.”

Minhyun drifts off, dreaming of the sky and the stars, a three-point constellation, and it's glow as it shines, reflected in the water.

☀ ☀ ☀

It’s still dark and Seongwoo is nowhere to be seen.

Minhyun had woken up, roused by the chilly breeze coming over the lake. When he had gotten up to get the towel to use as a blanket, he realised the warm presence that had been next to him was missing. 

He feels a familiar veil of panic settling over him, and his chest constricts. He can hear the voice in his subconscious, whispering vindictive things, but he urges his mind not to concentrate on it. 

_You’re Hwang Minhyun. Rationalise this._ Looking around, his eyes get used to the dark and a familiar rugged outline emerges at his feet. 

“Hey Daniel, where did your best friend go?”

Daniel’s crescent-shaped eyes are seemingly unrevealing, but then Minhyun turns around. 

Behind where his head was laying, is a single azalea petal. Minhyun picks it up, staring at it. He walks forward and sees another azalea petal. And then another. 

He follows the petal trail for a while, weaving through the forest, and crossing over the stream towards a direction that they hadn’t ventured before. 

Up ahead, past the line of trees, he sees a figure clothed in shadow, waving its arms above its head eagerly. Minhyun finds himself smiling. When he walks closer his breath catches. 

Seongwoo had rolled his grey jumper up to his elbows, revealing toned forearms. The jumper was tucked loosely into his sweatpants, elongating his legs. And his hair was styled, messily parted into a comma shape. 

For someone who had spent the past day wandering around a mountain, Minhyun decides that he looks really really hot. 

Seongwoo smirks mischievously as Minhyun eyes him from head to toe. 

“I wanted to test out if that Sex-Proof Mousse actually lived up to its name.”

His face falls as Minhyun’s eyes widen.

“Oh god no that came out wrong!”

Seongwoo quickly turns around in panic, head in his hands. 

Minhyun is about to walk up to him, to tell him that it’s okay, but Seongwoo whirls around, palms outstretched. “Wait, this was supposed to go totally differently.” He watches in amusement as Seongwoo’s eyebrows furrow, hurriedly whispering prepared lines. 

“Whoo. Okay,” Seongwoo looks up at him through his eyelashes, and then turns sideways with a lopsided grin. “Ta-da! You came at just the right time!”

Minhyun was so focused on Seongwoo that he hadn’t yet taken in his surroundings. His mouth opens at the view stretched out in front of him. 

They’re standing at the edge of a cliff, and a valley of trees fades off into the horizon. Everywhere is still shrouded in darkness, but right above the trees thin bands of pink and orange spread across the skyline. In the centre of the colour is a white glow spreading into a muted yellow. 

They watch breathlessly as the glow moves upwards, bringing the bands of colour up, and darkness seeps away from their surroundings. 

He feels Seongwoo’s hand on his wrist, and he looks down in surprise as Seongwoo pulls him closer to the edge of the cliff. Maybe this time, yesterday, he would’ve been scared. Instead he feels like his touch is the most natural thing in the world. 

Seongwoo looks down shyly and shuffles his feet a little. Minhyun resists an urge to ruffle his hair. 

“I have a confession to make.”

Minhyun begin blinking rapidly and swallows the lump in his throat awkwardly.

“I actually...” Seongwoo bites his lip, still refusing to make eye contact. “…come to the mountains a lot.”

_What._

“Well I genuinely didn’t know where we were in the forest,” Seongwoo throws out quickly, sensing Minhyun’s sudden tenseness. “But I pretty much knew where we were at the azalea bushes.”

He looks up quickly and registers the blank look on Minhyun’s face. “I’m telling you this because I always come to this cliff when something’s on my mind. And I want you to do something here. If you’re mad, we can leave right now.” 

When Minhyun doesn’t answer, continuing to stare at Seongwoo, he turns towards the valley and cups his mouth. 

“I’m a piece of shit!”

The word ‘shit’ echoes around the mountains, and birds flutter furiously from the trees as if offended by the very word. 

“I failed my last audition because I couldn’t stop laughing at the director’s sweaty pits!”

Minhyun watches in amazement as Seongwoo continues yelling his deepest secrets over the trees tops. 

“It was actually me not Jaehwan that told Sungwoon about Daniel’s crush on him!”

“I once tried lifting weights and sprained my wrist!”

Seongwoo turns to him, grinning. “You should try it, Minhyun! Don’t bottle your feelings up, even if everything seems okay.”

Minhyun hesitates, wondering what to yell. 

“Don’t even think about it,” Seongwoo touches his wrist reassuringly, and brings Minhyun’s hands to cup around his mouth. 

“I want to direct the next Transformers movie!”

He expects a laugh, but Seongwoo just looks at him, eyes glittering. Minhyun turns back to the landscape in front of him, and focuses on the orange sun. 

“I didn’t buy toilet paper before I left, even though Dongho told me to!”

“I was the one who chucked out all of Aron’s ice cubes!”

“I’m actually kind of scared of Choi Minki!”

Minhyun takes a deep breath. 

“I’m jealous of Jonghyun’s new drama!”

He feels his muscles relax, closing his eyes with a smile. 

“I will never be enough!”

His shoulders feel lighter, and he gets swept up in the euphoria. 

“I’ve never dated anyone before!”

Minhyun turns, framing Seongwoo’s face with his hands, and presses their lips together. 

As suddenly as it happens, he pulls away and steps back, face heating up at the shock etched on Seongwoo’s features. “Sorry, I’ve never done-”

Seongwoo takes both of Minhyun’s hands in his, stopping him mid-sentence. They’re soft and warm and Minhyun never wants to let him go. Seongwoo’s lips curl into a bashful smile, and he leans in slowly, placing a soft kiss on the corner of Minhyun’s bottom lip. 

“Be a little gentler next time,” Seongwoo says breathily. At close proximity, Minhyun is conscious of how he no longer looks embarrassed, the smile spreading into a smirk, one eyebrow raised.

Moving one hand to the back of his neck, pulling him closer so Minhyun can feel his breath on the shell of his ear, Seongwoo whispers, “Kissing is the one thing I never failed in auditions.”

He feels his heart stutter at Seongwoo’s boldness. Then Seongwoo pulls back, one hand still on his neck. He smiles at Minhyun’s dazed expression and slightly pouted lips, drinking in the sight. 

Calmly, Seongwoo closes his eyes and presses their lips together once again.

☀

They walk back to the lake with their fingers intertwined, shoulders bumping. Minhyun catches himself chuckling, heart full, and Seongwoo nudges him, smiling.

They sit on the shore for a while, simply relishing in each other’s company. 

“So, at exactly what point in the last 24 hours did you realise ‘This guy’s hot, I want to make out with him?’” Seongwoo turns to him smugly, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. 

Minhyun’s face flushes and he panics. How could he tell Seongwoo he was smitten the moment he saw his face? 

“Y-you go first!”

Seongwoo laughs, already anticipating the question being thrown back at him. 

“Come on, you literally snatched my wig, do I need to explain any further?”

Before Seongwoo can press Minhyun for an answer, something dings, a sound so foreign in that moment, Minhyun doesn’t recognise it immediately. 

“Oh that must be Jaehwan! He’s probably here already. Wow, I thought there wasn’t any reception in this area.”

Seongwoo pulls out something small and sleek, and starts tapping away. 

Minhyun blinks slowly, making sure he isn’t seeing things. 

“YOU HAD YOUR PHONE THE WHOLE TIME SEONGWOO?!”

Seongwoo flinches, bringing the smartphone close to his chest protectively. “What, there wasn’t any reception!”

Minhyun feels a familiar surge of heat, presses his lips together and closes his eyes. “GPS doesn’t need reception.”

“Oh.”

“Ongieeeee.”

☀ ☀ ☀

###### E P I L O G U E

Minhyun stands stoically, smile plastered on his face. He raises a hand and moves accordingly as journalists yell at him, bright lights flashing from every direction. Then he’s ushered away from the photo zone to do interviews. 

“From the trailer, it looked like the horror was more subdued than your previous films. Is there a reason you made the protagonist an anti-hero?”

Minhyun smiles at the nervous boy, who is holding the microphone way too far for it to pick up his voice. “Well, I wanted to explore what it was like for a recluse to be threatened in his own home, rather than the recluse threatening other people. So, I wouldn’t say that he’s an anti-hero, he’s simply defending the only place he calls home” 

Another journalist, pearly-whites proudly on view and hair slicked back, asks him about Jonghyun. “There’s a rumour that Kim Jonghyun isn’t the lead actor because he refused to lower his image to a homeless person. How true is this statement?”

Minhyun feels an eyebrow twitch at the blatant lie, but he stops himself from taking the bait. “My dear friend Jonghyun did so well in _Overcome_. I hear his new drama is coming out this summer. Hwaiting!” He smiles fully into the camera lens, fists held up in encouragement. He quickly moves away before the stunned journalist can react. 

Looking down the length of the red carpet, where more eager journalists wait, he sighs. Suddenly he feels a heavy weight on his shoulders and an arm around his neck. 

“Dongho! Let go!” he sputters. 

Turning around with a glare, he sees Dongho, Aron and Minki with wide smiles on their faces. 

“Wow, you’re actually talking to the journalists. You’re a new man Hwang Minhyun.” Minhyun lightly whacks Dongho on the head. He glances back up the red carpet, where more cars are pulling up, face falling when he doesn’t see who he’s looking for. 

“He’s just waiting to see lover boy in a tuxedo,” Minki and Aron snicker to each other. 

“Guysss, why do you always make me sound so whipped?” Minhyun pouts, arms crossed over each other. 

The trio stare at him in shock. 

“Because you never used to do that before, what the heck Hwang Minhyun!” Dongho shakes his head, walking away. Minki sighs dramatically, hand on his forehead, and follows Dongho. Minhyun turns to Aron, who’s standing there with a mischievous grin. 

“Lover boy just messaged me to stop you from going inside because he wants to surprise you on the red carpet.” 

Minhyun puts a hand on his mouth to stop himself from smiling. He’s pretty sure his eyes betray his emotions though, as Aron slowly moves away with eyebrows raised and a knowing expression on his face.

“One more question Minhyun, if that’s alright with you.” His smile falls as sleazy-looking journalist is back, mouth still fixed in a permanent display of teeth. “What’s the relationship between you and Ong Seongwoo?”

He rolls his eyes, ready to retort with a very sarcastic comeback. Something along the lines of _what’s your relationship with your ass?_ , when he hears the commotion at the beginning of the red carpet. 

A black SUV’s just pulled up, and the journalists click away with fervour, bright lights probably already blinding whoever’s inside. Sleazy guy’s cameraman quickly whispers something, and his eyes go wide, before rushing away. “Ong Seongwoo’s here?!”

Minhyun’s heart races in anticipation, even though he already knew that Seongwoo was going to come to the premiere. He hadn’t exactly been covert when he had left the apartment this morning, eyebrows wiggling, saying that he would see him later _tonight._

It’s just that they haven’t come out publicly with their relationship yet, what with Seongwoo still the hot rookie actor sweeping everyone off their feet. Sure, rumours have been flying, especially since Seongwoo isn’t exactly the best at hiding things, having been captured coming out of Minhyun’s apartment early in the morning one too many times. 

The door of the SUV opens, and Minhyun instinctively smiles at the familiar face of the man he loves. He’s holding a bouquet of royal azalea flowers and attempting to climb out of the SUV with his free hand, eyes furrowed in concentration, looking impeccably handsome with gelled hair and a form-fitting tuxedo. 

“Seongwoo! Seongwoo! Look over here!” the journalists surge forward, breaking through the line of security guards. 

Seongwoo opens his mouth in horror, and Minhyun can see Jaehwan ushering Seongwoo back in. He looks back one more time, searching, and their eyes meet. Minhyun can see the grin start to form on his face, and then the door closes and the SUV drives away. 

Minhyun shakes his head smiling. Seongwoo was never the best at plans. And then he turns to walks up the red carpet towards the theatre, pretending not to notice all the journalists on the way.

☀

He had just finished introductions with the cast, and is sitting tensely in the seat at the end of the first row, waiting for the film to start. It’s always the most nerve-wracking part of the premiere, the darkened room, the hum of the audience behind him whispering in anticipation. He puts his thumb to his lips, gnawing the side of his nail.

“Hey,” Minki whispers behind him, poking the side of his head. “Where did Aron go?”

Minhyun looks over to where Aron should be sitting right next to him, as the main writer. He hadn’t even noticed that he had left, having been too preoccupied with his nerves. 

“I don’t know,” Minhyun whispers loudly, eyes fixed forward, not wanting to look back at the faces of the audience. 

He squeezes his eyes shut to calm his heart, as the production logo plays, followed by the words _‘Hwang Minhyun’s Friday the 16th’_ in red letters. He had watched it so many times, but viewing it on a massive screen rather than a computer monitor was always different. 

“Hi hot stuff,” a low voice resonates in front of him, the smell of popcorn wafting to his nose. “Is anyone sitting here?”

Minhyun is ready to tell the stranger off in irritation, but gasps in surprise as he opens his eyes to Seongwoo crouching in front of him, his phone balanced on the bucket of popcorn. He looks a little less dashing than an hour ago, wearing a black hoodie, cap and face mask instead of the tuxedo, but Minhyun can’t help but feel his heart skip a beat at his dark gaze. 

“N-no,” Minhyun stutters, as the title sequence of the film starts playing, the sound of feet scrunching on autumn leaves. 

He hears a gagging sound behind him, and Dongho whispers loudly, “Everyone knows it’s you Seongwoo!”

Seongwoo’s eyes shift into crescents as he settles himself into Aron’s seat, popcorn in lap. 

“Everything’s going to be good Minhyun, the audience are already entranced,” Seongwoo squeezes his hand in reassurance. 

Before Seongwoo can withdraw it, Minhyun grabs onto his hand, holding it tight. 

The loud ding of a messenger tone echoes in the theatre, interrupting the intense scene of the mountain man carving the end of a stick to a point. Some people make a shushing sound. 

Minhyun looks down at the message Seongwoo’s just received on his phone. 

**aron 9.03pm**

> Minki told me to tell you to _“get a room u stinky hoe or ill call jonghyun 2 fite u”_

 

Minhyun glances back at Minki who’s glaring at him and Seongwoo in irritation. His gaze shifts to the audience behind him, noticing how they stare at the screen with mouths open, reacting in a mixture of shock and awe as the mountain man kills a boar with a carefully aimed stick to the jugular. 

He also sees Daniel and Jaehwan sitting near the back, both with wide grins and thumbs up. 

Minhyun smirks, newfound bravery stirring inside him. 

Bringing Seongwoo’s chin towards him, he tilts his head sideways to pull the facemask down with his teeth, gaze never leaving his eyes as his lips rest on his jaw. 

Minki lightly kicks Minhyun’s head in annoyance, pushing him away from Seongwoo. 

Minhyun can’t help but burst into a fit of giggles at Seongwoo’s reddened face, popcorn spilt all over the floor.

**Author's Note:**

> thankyou for making it to the end! this is the first fic I've ever written, but I really love onghwang and the ao3 onghwang tag so I decided to contribute something, after getting inspiration while hiking 
> 
> I wanted to explore their dynamics based on purely their own interactions, without influence by other people. so of course they just naturally fall for each other (I squealed while writing the scenes where they were nauseatingly cute!)
> 
> in case it wasn't clear:  
> minhyun - director (of horror movies)  
> seongwoo - struggling actor turned hot rookie actor yay  
> daniel - seongwoo's best friend who seongwoo personifies into a pet rock for the lols  
> dongho - cameraman and minhyun's roommate  
> minki - visual design  
> aron - main writer  
> jonghyun - famous movie actor turned kdrama lead, and minhyun's highschool best friend! 
> 
> feel free to leave comments or critiques <3


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